Finance Minister Bill Morneau Announced in Beijing Today That Canada Will Apply for Membership in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

31 August 2016

CRC—With this announcement, Canada is now set to become the first North American member of the multilateral bank.

That decision was announced on the second day of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s week-long first official visit to China.

On day one, Prime Minister Trudeau at an event hosted by the China Entrepreneur Club is quoted by Xinhua News as saying: “My government believes very much in the importance of investing in infrastructure; that is one of the reasons why we are looking very favorably at the possibility of joining the AIIB.”

In the dialogue session of that same event, PM Trudeau said: “Any economic strategy that ignores China or treat that valuable relationship as anything less than critical and important is not just short-sighted, it is irresponsible.”

“We know that a stronger and deeper relationship with China is essential if we are to achieve our own objectives to create Canadian jobs, to strengthen the middle class, and grow the Canadian economy.”

China’s Global Times of September 1st reports that during President Xi Jinping’s meeting with PM Trudeau on Wednesday, he called for ‘more high-level visits between China and Canada and said that both sides should enhance dialogue and cooperation in various fields with existing bilateral mechanisms.

Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday also said that China and Canada have agreed to launch a feasibility study on a China-Canada free-trade area as early as possible. He admitted to historical differences between the two countries, but maintained that mutual interests outweigh the differences, Xinhua reported. [GGG].